Vanished
by Electra11
Summary: Sometimes even training is dangerous. Magic saved them more than once, but can magic save them when it's causing their doom?
1. Dawn

**Sinbad - The New Journeys.**

**Episode #4 - Vanished**

**Disclaimers: Sinbad and his crew, as well as the Nomad, belong to Ed Naha and Atlantis productions. I just borrowed them to let the Nomad sail again... :)**

_Author's note: Here we go again... Episode #4 of Sinbad - The new journeys: Vanished! As always, to have a better comprehension of this fanfiction you should dig into the other three episodes first... but don't worry, you can just enjoy this one, too. :)__  
__The idea of this episode shaped up in months of ramblings on my Moleskine, and in the end won the #4 over the plot that will be episode #5. But one step at the time... so, ENJOY!_

_Hold on a sec. One more thing, about the "Vanished" preview you had on the ending of the Curse: guys, I do remember Maeve and Tetsu already know each other. Trust me a little! LOL :P_

The Nomad was utterly quiet, basking in a wonderful sunrise after a night of smooth sailing. The sailors on the night shift were finishing their chores under Doubar's orders, muttering to each other, waiting to be able to reach their hammocks. In the galley, by the way, two people were already up, ready to face the new day with a ton of books splayed on the table in front of them, chatting quietly.

"Are you up for something new today, Bryn?" Maeve asked abruptly, making the brunette shift her gaze from Dermott to her mentor, her eyes wide in surprise. In the last days Maeve wasn't exactly in training mood, well, she wasn't even in the mood for anything. She spent her shifts performing flawlessly her duties, avoiding any chance to be called or even noticed by anyone of her friends, she started to eat later than anyone else, preferring to read a book on deck or meditate then sharing some time with the crew. After Dermott secret coming out, Maeve looked like she was still trying to come to terms with the situation: she may have talked to Sinbad, but she couldn't resolve yet to face Doubar and the others, locking herself away in her panic and gloom. She developed the habitue to lock her mind, too, so Bryn and Dermott could do little more than study her, and giving her quiet advices when the redhead let them near enough.

"Define this something new, Maeve." Bryn asked politely, clearing her voice and leaning on the table.

"We've to clear our minds. So... let's dig into dematerializing things. Best exercise ever, when you need to clear a mind." Maeve announced, slamming a worn-out looking book right in front of Bryn with a huge smile. The brunette's eyes went wide, while Dermott screeched in apparent distress, flapping his wings noisily. On the other side, Maeve looked completely oblivious to the whole situation.

"Mind you, by the way. The book is Cairpra's, so don't leave it around Firouz." the Celtic sorceress whispered, nodding happily.

"Well." Bryn started, trying to choose carefully her words. "I'm not sure I'm ready for it." she simply pointed out, staring nervously to the redhead who just shrugged out her objection.

"It's going to be a blast. Believe me." she smiled, patting the cover of the book. "First you read, then we practice."

Bryn sighed, nodding slightly while staring down to the book.

_"It's going to be a blast, of course. Straight on the Nomad."_

Bryn chuckled at Dermott mental sigh, glancing for a moment to the chirping hawk and shaking slightly her head.

_"Thanks for the vote of confidence."_

_"You're welcome. You never saw Maeve in her first attempts on dematerializing things. I did."_

Maeve tried to ignore the two while they stared at each other, fighting the urge to lower the wards around her mind to join the quarrel she knew they were having, fidgeting nervously with the silver band on her middle finger. She brought up her gaze only when she felt familiar steps from the direction of the Captain's cabin, and she smiled when she met Sinbad gaze.

"You two are up early." he muttered, passing a hand on his face while he approached the table, collapsing on the chair next to Maeve and Dermott.  
"Morning to you too, Sailor..." Maeve said quirking an eyebrow, amusement on her face while she straightened up the red headband on the Captain's forehead.

"Bad dreams?" Bryn asked quietly, nudging a bowl in his direction. "Breakfast."

"I couldn't sleep. I've this bad feeling..." Sinbad frowned, taking the bowl and inspecting it carefully.

"Maeve's turn." Bryn pointed out, staring at the ceiling and avoiding carefully to look at anyone.  
"Oh. I see." Sinbad muttered, taking a deep breath.

"Wipe that face, Captain, if you don't want to be fried." the Celtic sorceress warned him, glaring at his shameless smile. "It's good. Bryn ate it and she's still alive. Then, eat!" she defended herself. Sinbad and Bryn glanced at each other, then the Captain took a careful bite of food. Until she was fuming and looking herself like that morning, he could risk to be poisoned. Maeve was still looking expectantly at him when Firouz descended the steps from deck, looking tired and worn out... but it was matter of moments, before she bolted up.

"Night shift over, than it's morning shift. I've work to do. Morning Firouz, Rongar..." she babbled quickly, brushing against the inventor shoulder while Dermott quickly caught up with her, making Firouz crouch abruptly to make him room.  
"Morning to you too, Maeve." Firouz sighed watching her retreat, while Sinbad and Bryn exchanged a glance. "Well... at least she's saying hi now." the man offered, shrugging, before joining his two friend at the table while Rongar agreed with him.

"Is she still...?" Sinbad asked to Bryn, who nodded sadly.

"Still locking me and Dermott out of her mind, yes."

"She's overreacting, as always." Sinbad mumbled, taking another careful bite of his breakfast. "But she's barely talking to me, too. I guess she needs some more time to deal with the situation."

"Guess so." Firouz nodded, taking a seat beside Bryn while checking on the various books spread in front of her. "Back on training?"

"Yes. Maeve wants us to try on dematerializing things... quoting her, it's going to be a blast!" Bryn repeated, trying to sound confident, piling up her books before standing up. "Guess I'll better go studying, see you later guys." she smiled, marching away under Firouz and Sinbad's stare. As soon as she was out of sight, Sinbad turned wide-eyed to look at the inventor.

"Dematerializing things?" Sinbad repeated worriedly, before standing up quickly and heading deck.

"If we survive this one, I don't want to hear any complaint again about my inventions. Ever." Firouz muttered back, Rongar nodding forcefully.

SINBAD – THE NEW JOURNEYS  
Created by Ed Naha  
Continued by Whirlingcharm Productions

"Vanished"


	2. Sunlight and shadows

_I'm so deeply thrilled and honoured to announce that... I've got a betareader to edit my ramblings. Well, as a matter of fact I got two betareaders, but __**Modestus**__ is going to be on duty starting from next chapter. So, for now, my deepest thank you to __**Anime Princess! **_

_As always... Enjoy!_

Sinbad hopped on deck, smiling when he bumped into his big brother.  
"Nice night, Doubar?" he asked, crossing the path of the tired looking first mate.  
"Nice night indeed, little brother. And she's over there, by the way." the elder man pointed out, tilting his head in Maeve's direction at prow. Sinbad, followed the lead, nodding curtly. "Tell her we don't blame her, when you have the chance... and most of all, tell her she has to stop with this whole avoiding thing." he added, a mix of wisdom and annoyance in his voice.

Sinbad sighed, placing his hands on his hips while staring at Maeve's long curls, blowing in the wind while the sorceress kept checking on some cargo items they had to store on deck on their way to Basra.

"Sometimes I wish she was easier to deal with..." the Captain sighed, glancing to his big brother who chuckled and answer, "Aye Sinbad. But love doesn't make us choose... and in the end, I'm sure you wouldn't change her for anything."  
"You bet, Doubar." Sinbad grinned, shaking slightly his head.  
"I'm going to join her... she's set on going on with Bryn's training." he muttered, frowning.  
"Why are you frowning? That's good news... isn't it?" Doubar asked quizzically.  
"They want to try dematerializing things." the Captain announced, looking pointedly at Doubar who went wide-eyed.  
"Allah have mercy." the first mate muttered, quickly taking the steps into the galley. Sinbad nodded, glancing around to check on the crew while he walked in Maeve direction.

Dermott chose that moment to fly down in front of his sister, making her snap out of her thoughts and wobble back.  
"Dermott!" she shouted, enraged, following the hawk flight, "You're not helping!"

"He's just worried." Sinbad quietly pointed out. Maeve glared at him, placing a lock of her auburn hair behind her ear before clearing her voice.

"I know he's worried. And I know you're worried." she huffed grumpily, "But there's no reason. For once, will you just let me take my time and quit bugging me?" she yelled, sending another glare to the sky where Dermott screeched loudly as an answer. The sorceress spent some moments staring at him in a mute challenge before leaning heavily on the railing and lowering her head.

"Sorry." she mumbled a moment later, taking a deep breath.  
"No need." Sinbad whispered, choosing that moment to lean beside her, placing one hand on her waist.  
"I wasn't ready." Maeve whispered, shaking her head. "I AM not ready. It was my burden to share, not my uncle's! I... I... it took me ages to come to terms with Dermott situation. And now this! What am I supposed to say to the guys? How am I supposed to explain what happened, when I still have nightmares about it? How can I ask them to help me when I've been driven for ages by vengeance alone? They thought... they thought..." Maeve babbled, before tensing in an exasperated moan and hide her face in her hands, leaning on Sinbad tall frame, nestling her head on his shoulder.

"Breath..." he mumbled, stroking lightly at the nape of her neck while she snaked her hands around his waist, her face still hidden in his shoulder.  
"It's like everything suddenly caught up with me, after years of carefully running away." she sighed, closing her eyes under the soothing touch of her captain.  
"Then, we'll deal with it, my sorceress." he smiled, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Take your time, but the guys are missing you. I'm not the best person to talk about sharing a burden but... just don't underestimate them, like I did while you were missing. They're family, too... just like Dermott over there."  
"I know... but I..." Maeve sighed, slowly untangling from his arms, stretching a hesitant smile before shrugging, "...I'll do my best."  
"I know." Sinbad answered, smiling earnestly before taking a deep breath and stared thoughtfully at the sorceress.  
"What else?"  
"I hate to spoil the moment." Sinbad sighed, shaking his head.  
"Moment spoiled. Spill." Maeve snapped back, quirking an eyebrow. The captain took another deep breath, munchin on his lower lip.  
"About Bryn's training..." Sinbad begun making a face.  
"Yes?" the redhead answered, quizzically.  
"Can I make an objection?"

"No."

Sinbad glared at her, fighting his temper.  
"Maeve. This is my ship!" he muttered.  
"Of course it is, and Bryn is my apprentice! So?" she challenged him, mirroring his glare. Dermott screeched in the sky, following their banter even without the aide of telephaty; their voices already rising.  
They were worse than kids sometimes, even now: one moment they were sweet and tender, a moment later they were at each other throats.  
"Of course she's your apprentice... but since you're on my ship, I'd like to have a voice on your training program!"  
"Oh please, don't go all captain on me, Sinbad! That's the last thing I need!" Maeve moaned, annoyance clear in her voice.  
"Training on dematerializing things while on board doesn't look safe!"  
"I'm a full sorceress, Sinbad. Come on! Trust me a little! I can keep everything under control!"  
"You sound like Firouz!"

Maeve went wide-eyed, and Sinbad cringed a little. Bad choice of words.

"As a matter of fact, Captain, I'm not going to endanger either you or the Nomad. Bryn can learn dematerialization quickly, and I can look after her while she learns. Unlike Firouz, I can fix anything... even before you notice it!" she growled, poking him on his chest with her finger. "You'll say thank you to her learning to mist things away sooner than you think. Wait and see!" she added, storming away.

Sinbad took a deep breath, placing his hands on his hips and glancing to Dermott who just perched on the railing beside him.

"I so hope that, that bad temper is not a family thing, Featherbrain." he muttered, ruffling his feathers while the hawk flapped his wings as an answer.

Sinbad stared for a long moment to Dermott, the hawk tilting his head to watch him in a way that the Captain would have defined as... quizzical. There were so many things, so many details about Dermott that had happened in years past that now made perfect sense. So many things leading to the awful truth revealed by Maeve's uncle before leaving the Nomad...

Sinbad leaned on the railing beside the hawk, crossed his arms while studying Maeve across the deck, annoyance and anger radiating from her body with such blatantly that the crew was accurately avoiding her while she checked on the various items of cargo. But there was more under the fire raging in her soul.

"Your brave, brave sister..." he sighed, glancing to the hawk for a moment before going back to stare at the redhead. "No offense, I know she always calls you her brave, brave Dermott... but I think she underestimates herself, as always. If it was me, trying to deal with Doubar being under a curse..."

Sinbad sighed, shaking his head. Dermott kept fixing him, blinking, unnaturally still and calm.

"Your sister fights her inner demons day by day, and even if this is the first time I see her strenght crumbling a bit... well, she's still there. Fighting. For you, for Bryn, for me. And the Fire is still there, roaring, sparkling..." Sinbad smiled softly, his eyes still on his fuming sorceress. "Unlike me. I don't deal with losing people I love, as I showed this last year." he shook his head, a frown on his face when Dermott chirped as if he was agreeing, looking strangely supportive.  
"I never noticed you were such a good listener, you know? Let's give her some more time, Dermott. And let's hope she doesn't sink us in the meantime." he sighed, shaking his head once more.

Dermott, as an answer, flew promptly away.

"Let's hope I misunderstood, this time." Sinbad muttered, watching one as Dermott ran away.

He rubbed a hand on his face, trying to fight the last chills coming from his nightmare, the images flashing in his mind. Maeve falling overboard, yet again, a ghost of the past he couldn't deal with; and a strange but yet familiar sword, long, thin and sharp, shattered in a pool of blood.

Tetsu's sword.

"I hope you're fine, my friend." he whispered, caressing his rainbow bracelet. His name was called a moment later, and Sinbad quickly shifted back to his routines, the sunlight winning easily over the shadows of the night.


	3. Training

_Thanks to my speedy betas, you get an extra treat before my weekend away! :D Many, many thank you to both __**Anime Princess**__ and __**Modestus**__ for the hard work they do... I think I'll be their slave forever and ever. _

_**Tiakisu**__ dearest, hope you'll like this one too... and __**msforever**__... well, wow, thank you. I'm almost embarassed by your review. I hope to keep matching your expectations. :)_

_Now... ENJOY ^^_

* * *

Maeve held her breath while staring attentively at Bryn's still form, who was concentrating on a basket laid out in the middle of many other various items stored in the cargo hold. The sun was shining through the wooden net of the ceiling, giving good sight to both sorceresses. They disappeared from deck hours before, trying to go unnoticed by the crew; the guys were still slightly worried about their exercises, even after many days.

Maeve couldn't understand why.

It was the brunette who broke the moment, her outstretched arm falling back to her side while breathing deeply.

"I can't."

"Of course you can. Concentrate!" Maeve scolded her, taking a step to approach her.

"I am concentrating... but it's just not working! Can we go back to tinier things?" Bryn pleaded in front of her, wiping the sweat from her forehead. The last few days had been a long parade of failings and little successes, wearing the brunette out of confidence and energies.

"Absolutely not! You have dematerialized enough little things successfully. Time to aim for bigger targets."  
"I did enough destruction with little things, Maeve. And I didn't dematerialize them. I actually misted them away, as a matter of fact." Bryn pointed out in a sigh, sliding to ground while Maeve crouched beside her.  
"Just like my... sister." she added, lowering her gaze.

"Don't beat yourself up about the ways of your magic. Your powers shape from nature, so it's pretty normal that your dematerialization looks like mist. You know, your magic is like the Druidic Arts. At the beginning of my training, my dematerialization was a burst of flames. I was terrified that every time I tried, I would destroy my target." Maeve confessed with a face, before smiling at her.

The brunette smiled back for a moment, and then she frowned again.

"All the same, it's creepy. I don't want my magic to remind anyone of Rumina."  
"Come on, nobody is that silly." the redhead scoffed.  
Bryn glared pointedly at her.  
"All right, maybe someone is that silly. But Firouz totally overreacted!"  
"I accidentally misted his magnoscope away, straight from his hands to the bottom of the ocean." Bryn rephrased her mentor.  
"And I took it out, didn't I? But no, Mister Scientist had to alert the whole ship about Rumina being nearabouts before I could even speak! It's totally wasn't your fault, Bryn." Maeve huffed, waving her hand.  
"All right then, what about the grog accident?" Bryn offered, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.  
"Again, the guys overreacted. You just missed the bowls, and you actually misted fish inside the bottle!" Maeve objected.  
"Mere inches. They should have cheered for you and not moaning about their grog; especially because I cleaned it up. Again, not your fault. You're doing great, believe me!" the Celtic sorceress said with a warm smile, patting the brunette's knee.  
Bryn sighed deeply, staring at her hands before looking pleadingly to her mentor.  
"Dermott says so, too. But... I'm so tired." Bryn moaned, noticing Maeve stiffening at the mention of her brother.

"You should stop locking him out of your mind. He's going crazy."

"This is not the time, Bryn." Maeve briskly interrupted her, pointing a finger at the basket. "Concentrate."  
"Can we try with just one more tiny object?" the brunette offered, and Maeve rolled her eyes.  
"All right, but then we're back to our current exercise," the redhead agreed, scanning the cargo hold.  
"The candle near the door," she said after a moment, nodding to Bryn.  
The other woman smiled, stood up and outstretched her right arm in the direction of the small object. Maeve stared at the colorful band of the rainbow bracelet shining brightly before the candle disappeared in a cloud of silvery mist, appearing again at their feet.  
The redhead smiled and rose to pat Bryn's shoulder in pride.  
"Only a few days and you're already doing miracles. See? No need to stress out about the guys. Now, back to the basket," she declared.

"All right, I'll give it a try." Bryn agreed, turning in the direction of her new target.

"Concentrate." Maeve repeated confidently, crossing her arms on her chest while Bryn took a deep breath, and outstretched her hand.  
Again, a silvery mist rose from her gesture, enveloping the cargo hold in shining spirals.  
"Crap." Maeve muttered, lowering her head and her shoulders while the entire cargo inventory disappeared from sight.

It happened in a matter of moments.

Awe coming from deck.  
Then screams.  
Then an enormous bang hit the Nomad, making the whole ship sink down and pop out of the sea and sending the two sorceresses to the other side of the now empty cargo hold.  
"I knew I wasn't ready!" the brunette screamed, trying to keep her balance.

"No time for self-pity! Sinbad is going to kill me if we sink the Nomad!" Maeve muttered, waving her hands madly; a bright white energy springing from her fingers.  
The Nomad stopped abruptly, going back to the usual lull, and one item after another appeared again in the cargo hold. Bryn was still breathing heavily when the basket she was aiming for appeared again right in her lap.

"I think this is all of it." Maeve huffed, short of breath and pale, glancing at the other woman. "Could have been worse, couldn't it? Do you think that anyone noticed it was actually the cargo?" she asked innocently, glancing to the ceiling.

Bryn just stared wide-eyed at her, a hesitant frown of her face while she shrugged slightly.

"Maeve! Bryn!" Doubar's voice roared somewhere on deck, followed by various yells coming from other crew members. Both women cringed.  
"Guess they noticed." Maeve sighed, forcing herself up. "I'll go check on the crew. You stay there and recover. We are testing your powers again later!" she stubbornly announced, running out of the cargo hold.  
Bryn stared at her retreat, before groaning and sliding again to the floor facing the ceiling.

Maeve didn't even reach the galley before she bumped into a positively fuming Sinbad marching in the opposite way. The captain caught her before she could fall to ground, and then he slammed her in the nearest wall without a word, glaring furiously at her.  
"You're mad." Maeve stated, grimacing when her head bumped into the wood. "I get it!"  
"Of course I'm mad! Are you completely out of your mind? What was that... that..." he sputtered, waving with the hand that wasn't locked on her arm.  
"The cargo. Bryn misdirected, but I already fixed it." Maeve explained, obviously. "Any injuries?" she breathed, worriedly.

"No." Sinbad growled, but before he could add anything, Maeve tried to wriggle out of his grasp.  
"Then what? It was a mistake, we're sorry, but if nobody is hurt, there's no need to go all Captain on me!" she snapped, but Sinbad tightened his hold, much to the sorceress' annoyance.  
"Don't make me fry you, Captain." she hissed beneath gritted teeth, trying again to wrestle out of his arm. Sinbad just kept staring at her, seriously.

"You have to stop this, Maeve," he mumbled, shaking his head. "Hiding behind your magic won't fix your pains, not this time!" he observed softly.  
Maeve shivered, struggling until she got free from the Captain, escaping the cage of his arms.  
"I'm not hiding." she muttered angrily.  
"Sure."  
"I'm doing what I'm supposed to do: train Bryn!" the redhead yelled.  
"No you're not! You know she wasn't ready for this!" Sinbad snapped again, and the two faced each other for some moments, panting. The sorceress noticed Doubar, Firouz and Rongar coming down deck, and she felt Dermott's presence not very far away. She shook her head and retreated back, storming away and heading for the cargo hold without another word.

Sinbad sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose before turning to stare at his friends.

"Everyone is fine." Firouz announced with the hint of a smile before quickly lowering his gaze.  
"Luckily," Doubar added. "Sinbad, you've got to talk to her."  
"Of course, because I'm getting so much success," the Captain muttered, crossing his arms on his chest.  
"I've been talking to her for at least a dozen days... she's as stubborn as ever."  
"You're the only one she'll listen to," Firouz mumbled, while Rongar nodded with a frown. Sinbad sighed again, tiredly, and Doubar took a step forward to stand beside him.

"We're going to check on the crew again," the inventor added, nodding in the direction of the deck to Rongar, giving some privacy to the brothers.

"You're still having nightmares about Tetsu?" Doubar whispered and his little brother nodded.  
"Aye, Doubar. I couldn't sleep again tonight. Like the last two weeks." he admitted, taking a deep breath.  
"I wanted to talk to Maeve, but she's gone all crazy about magic! Maybe she could tell me something more... I've got this bad feeling that's not going away."  
"I know. But you've to rest, little brother, there's no need to face your Celtic spitfire right now. The situation on deck is under control, I'll take care of everything else. Go and have some rest. You'll need energies for the next match with the lass..."

Sinbad nodded slowly, stretching a smile to Doubar before heading to his cabin, slowly, rubbing tiredly at his face. The dream kept haunting him as if living again Maeve being washed overboard wasn't enough; he was really getting worried about Tetsu.

He had to talk to Maeve, soon... this wasn't something that Firouz's potions could fix.


	4. Author's note

Author's note:

Well… I'm alive. Even for some time I wish I wasn't… I'm now happy I'm well. It takes some times to adjust back to life after a bad car crash, but here I am, again.

I *hate* unfinished business, and I love my season 3 too much to leave it in the middle of the fourth instalment. So… well. Stay tuned.

The Nomad is ready to sail… we'll see if we catch some good wind, and wherever it will take us.

Thank you to everyone who kept faith on me in these years :) I never answered, but I loved every pm.

*Electra11*


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